warhammer40kfanonfandomcom-20200216-history
Valdore 21st Combined Arms Regiment
History Valdore- settled sometime in the distant past, is nominally governed by a ruling council composed of families from the various city states that each control a major region of the planet. But they often spend more time arguing and scheming to cheat the Imperium of its tithes than showing an interest in ruling, as such the planet has little to offer the Imperium but its soldiers. Centered around an infantry core with armor and artillery in support and led by officers hailing from the noble classes, twenty of these "Combined Arms" regiments are currently fighting among the stars with a twenty first joining them only recently. As the regiment is newly founded their current deployment on Rufex, under the command of Colonel Endas Miveet, is their first operation outside of wargames with PDF units. Rufex Grario/LZ1 When the first reports of Tyranid activity on Rufex reached the Departmento Munitorum they sent the newly founded unit to assist local Imperial forces and loyalist Tribals. The Regiment came under attack almost instantly upon their arrival on a dark winter night. The infantry,deployed in the Feral World's single city were attacked by Genestealer Cultists and Tyranid Rippers that poured out of the city's sewers. Colonel Miveet quickly pulled his unit to more defensible positions behind the spaceport walls and inside the grounds of the Governor's Mansion. While the Infantry fought in the brightly lit city streets the vehicle crews outside the city walls faced The Hive Fleet's larger creatures in almost total darkness. Kubelei Lepira took charge of the Regiment's armor when his commander was killed, earning an instant promotion to Captain and constantly reported back to Miveet while the infantry took back the streets. After nine hours of fighting the exhausted regiment defeated their enemies and drove the remaining Cultists back into the wilderness outside the walls. The next day Colonel Miveet sent heavily armed Valdore troopers soon to be known as the "Ratcatchers" into the sewers alongside local Arbites to root out any remaining cultists. Skirmishing between the two forces lasted for several weeks before the next major battle in The Wohz Hills. Wohz Hills The Wohz people, long since loyal to the Imperium,came under attack and called on the Valdore for help. Colonel Miveet met with Tribal leaders by firelight and each group promised to aid the other with an elaborate blood oath. The regiment arrived at their destination to find the Wohz villages already under siege. Valdore Basilisks traded fire with Tyranid Biovores on the hills opposite them while the valley between them quickly became a debris choked battlefield lit by moonlight. The Valdore encountered the Carangore for the first time and quickly lost many of their tanks and Chimeras. Their first battle lasted for almost an entire day before the Tyranids withdrew allowing them to advance and relieve a Wohz stronghold under siege. But The Hive Fleet had another gambit and it sent creatures into the cisterns and wells, sending them to attack when the garrison had let its guard down. The stronghold was secured after another long battle and the wells were filled in. For now the citizens of the stronghold live on shipments of bottled water and snowmelt. Q'rham Watchtower They encountered the Genestealer Cult once again, finding that some of the Thokdel, an old ally of the Wohz people had been subverted into doing the Hive Mind's will when they lost contact with them for several weeks. Colonel Miveet sent an Armored Company and an Infantry Company to investigate the loss of contact and within minutes of their arrival they knew something was wrong. There were no signal fires and the Thokdel tribal banners that adorned the stone walls were torn down. The lascannons, recently mounted to the walls by Techpriests quickly turned on the Guardsmen at the bottom of the hill. With nowhere to go their only option was forward and so they were forced to fight their way up the rocky slopes of Q'rahm Hill, outnumbered almost three to one. Despite these odds they were able to push through and take the external stairway onto the ramparts of the central tower,while the Armored Company was unable to fire without hitting their own. The Company commander made the risky decision to have each of his tanks fire a single shot and the risk paid off as the salvo destroyed the lascannon positions and drove the Thokodel cultists into panic. They fled right into the waiting tanks below and there were no survivors. The infantry discovered the previous garrison, still imprisoned in the lower levels of the watchtower and returned them to their people. New lascannons were installed only days later and the watchtower was restored to Imperial hands. The cult has made several further attempts to retake the Watchtower, failing every time. Cyne Town The chieftain of the Cyne Tribe sent a message to the regiment, reporting dark shapes and unknown creatures stalking the marshes behind their village and that no one sent to investigate ever returned. Colonel Miveet responded, sending an artillery company, all sixteen Heavy Weapons Squads and Commissar Romero to their aid. Daily barrages of illumination rounds proved to have no effect and the Valdore soon grew restless, and with permission, wandered through the streets of the village and the surrounding area. The first incendiary rounds lit the natural gas pockets in the marsh and hundreds of Tyranids swarmed toward them. Despite the artillery and heavy weapons clearing the horde at a distance they were still able to close the gap, forcing the use of laspistols, shotguns and even various bladed weapons and tools But despite the loss of fifteen of their thirty Basilisks and sixty two men, they held their positions. The aftermath proved to be just as important as the battle itself. A pair of Guardsmen came forward, accusing their superior officer of raping a Cyne woman, hoping for clemency for their own crimes. When the woman came forward to confirm the story she accused the others of murdering her brother on his orders. Romero's only answer to these charges was to draw his bolt pistol. The Twelve Families Governor Sartacius realized that The Valdore had little hope of victory without the intervention of the Twelve Families, a powerful tribal alliance that chose isolation from the rest of Rufex. A group of Valdore, composed predominately of newly arrived replacement soldiers and vehicles were sent to their lands, guarding a lavish gift for their leaders- hoping to persuade them to join the fight against the Tyranids. The convoy was attacked time and again as the Valdore left Imperial controlled territory but they pressed on toward the Families' mountain strongholds. While they refused to accept the gift, the Tribal leaders were impressed by the troopers' courage and dedication to their duty. The Twelve families agreed to meet with The Governor and Colonel Miveet and discuss the conditions of their potential alliance with the Valdore and the other tribes. Regimental Culture Most soldiers in the 21st Valdore are simply common men and women who joined for the chance to see the stars and better their lives. Most were poor or lower middle class laborers and farmers and so have little to no power in how Valdore is ruled. Ironically, joining the Imperial Guard and fighting under someone else's command gives these soldiers some control over their own destiny as they are no longer tied to their home city or someone else's farmland. There is a good deal of tension between the ordinary soldiers and their officers and it can lead to a breakdown in discipline,forcing the Regimental Commissar to intervene from time to time. Upper Class and Nobles There is an enormous gap in wealth between the Officer Corps,composed at present of nobility or Upper Class citizens, and the common fighting man, something carried over from their rigidly stratified society. The Officers, if they chose to pay for tuition receive the best training available to them at the "Valdore Officer Academy" allowing them high ranks within the PDF or Imperial Guard as they become available. This is generally the case with the 21st as roughly 75% of their officer corps are Academy Graduates, while the remainder purchased their commissions. "Ratcatchers" Valdore Infantryman sent into the sewers of Grario were mockingly dubbed "Ratcatchers" but they wear the appellation with pride. It marks them as something unique, and so they wear the symbol of a rat skull on their right shoulders, ensuring that they are seen and recognized. Once scattered throughout the regiment, they are now a single platoon in the first company. Famous Members Colonel Endas Miveet As the third son of the noble Miveet family he would not inherit the City-State of Serido, capital of The Isles of Ebony, or his father's place on the Ruling Council and would likely be forced to oversee his family's business affairs. but he had no interest in collecting rents and harvests from overworked tenant farmers. Believing he was meant for greater things he joined the Valdore PDF and was assigned as his regiment's quartermaster .When the 21st was founded he purchased a Captain's commission, but was given command of the Regiment instead due to his family's place in the planetary government. While it was not a task he wanted he accepted it without complaint,using his skills to acquire luxuries for his men, using them as rewards for valor and motivation to excel. While an inexperienced commander he is learning quickly and has already earned the respect of the Rufex Tribals who call him "Firewalker" as his dark skin and hair remind them of woodsmoke and ash. He is seen as the chief of the "Valdore Tribe" and so the Wohz people have offered him a wife on numerous occasions in order to further formalize their alliance, an offer he has refused at every turn. Major Marisiah Bivesa As the daughter of a wealthy family she was one of only a few Upper Class women to attend the Valdore Officer Academy She excelled at battlefield tactics and academics,leading one of her jealous classmates to start a rumor about her, it stated that she was having an affair with one of the instructors in exchange for her good grades. She challenged this classmate to a duel in direct violation of Academy law and almost killed him. She would have been expelled but for her family's influence and so she was placed on probation instead, forced to spend her nights in study instead of carousing with the other students. She completed her training with a PDF commission but she looked for more and so when the call to found the 21st Valdore reached her she resigned her commission and purchased one in the newly formed Regiment, finding herself as a member of the Regimental Command Squad. She has earned the respect and admiration of her regiment and their regiment's allies. Ongrund, a leader of the Wohz people, is a great admirer of her pale skin and raven hair, enough that he has asked her to become his third wife but she has so far refused the offer. Captain Kubelei Lepira Despite being the commander of one the Regiments two dedicated Armored Companies he stands out, he is not nobility, nor did not purchase his Captain's commission but earned it in the Regiment's first battle. His bold actions saw him jump from Squadron Commander to Captain in a single day, and he has worked very hard to make himself worthy of the confidence placed in him. He has since outfitted his command tank with a pair of turret mounted stubbers and tribal blessings painted on either side of the hull. He has also taken to wearing a scarf knitted by an elderly Wohz woman and a necklace made by her granddaughter. Commissar Iyago Romero The Valdore 21st is a new regiment and so they received a newly minted Commissar. In an attempt to endear himself to the regiment he carries an officer's sword and Valdore "Softnose" alongside his bolt pistol. In an effort to earn respect among the Tribals he also wears a cluster of feathers in his hat. While young and impetuous he is not afraid to enforce harsh discipline, albeit not without cause, or proof. He had more than enough to summarily execute two guardsmen and their superior officer in the aftermath of the Battle for Cyne Town He is feared but also respected, the likely exaggerated account of how he killed twenty-one Gaunts in the battle at Cyne Town has spread far and wide. Structure * Regimental Command Squad # Colonel, two majors and a four man color Guard # Valdore Standard Bearer/ Guard # Regimental Standard Bearer/ Guard * 10 Infantry Companies(1000 men) each commanded by a Captain # 100 men # One Company Command Squad. # 4 platoons of 25 divided into # four squads of five men * two Armored Companies-, each commanded by a Captain # 144 men/24 Leman Russ tanks -each armed with a Battle Cannon,hull mounted lascannons and Sponson Heavy Bolters # four Squadrons of six tanks- roughly equivalent to an Infantry platoon, each Squadron is commanded by a lieutenant while each tank is commanded by a Sergeant * Two Artillery Companies- 120 men/ 30 Armageddon Pattern Basilisks each and commanded by a Captain # two batteries of fifteen guns, each commanded by a lieutenant * Two Transport Companies -120 men/40 Chimeras each and commanded by a Captain # two convoys of twenty Chimeras * Sixteen Heavy Weapons Teams to be assigned as needed(two men each) Uniform/Equipment 1.Trooper * Gray BDU with black boots and Black Valdore Flak armor/helmet * only Sergeant and above wear rank markers- sewn onto the sleeves in white. * Valdore "Longnose" lasgun/Headhunter autorifle / "snubnose" lascarbine(for vehicle crews) * Valdore "softnose" laspistol or * "Nightwatch" stub pistol. Initally carried by police assigned nighttime duties it carried over into military use. * "Bluntnose" Shotgun * Valdore Fighting Knife * 3 Frag Grenades/3 Krak Grenades/3 Toxin Grenades(for use against Tyranid bioforms)(mission specific) * Heavy Weapons Teams are also issued the Bloodmoon Pattern Lascannon alongside their standard gear. * Imperial Guardsman's Uplifting Primer 2.Officer * Gray BDU with black boots and Black Valdore Flak armor/helmet only Sergeant and above wear rank markers- sewn onto the sleeves in white. (Ratcatchers patch worn on Right Shoulder) * Officer's greatcoat/officer's cap- not usually worn in the field both items are a mark of status for Valdore officers and typically have rank markers in gold alongside gold cuffs. *Valdore "softnose" laspistol/ "Nightwatch" based on personal preference *Valdore Officer's Sword - While primarily a status symbol and largely ceremonial it sometimes sees use as a weapon. This has proven to be the case on Rufex, in many close quarters battles against Cultists and their Tyranid masters. Category:Imperial Guard Regiments Category:Argus Cluster Category:Mechanised Infantry Regiments Category:PaperScraps